Zen
By Paul John Roach

Using thinking to explain non thinking,
Using words to explain the wordless,
Committed to the struggle
Of elucidating the effortless,
Why is it the purest joy
And the uttermost horror
Are part and parcel
Of what the Universe allows.

Tenderest care
And classic indifference
Coexist
In the turning of a hand
And the fickleness of the heart.

Oblivion is respite.
Darkness is opportunity.
Cruelty is the price paid
For boundless wonder.